Once Upon a Shoe that Fits
by MistressofArts88
Summary: This is a Captain Swan movie-fic story. Emma Nolan, an aspiring shoe designer, currently working as a wardrobe dresser for Capitaine Fashions. However, certain people and situations are holding her back. Killian Jones, prince of fashion, is struggling to find inspiration for his next collection. However, fate and a fairy godmother has other plans. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Once Upon a Shoe that Fits

Disclaimer: I do not own OUAT, I just like to play with them in my fairytale world.

This is a Captain Swan movie fic. It is loosely based the 1990 rom-com _If the Shoe Fits_ (or for those of you like me who still own the VHS _Stroke of Midnight_ ). Some things will be changed but a lot of the scenes will remain the same. Warning: If you are not a Captain Swan fan, this is not a story for you. There will be some great platonic Swan Queen moments. I hope you will like it.

For those of you who are not familiar with this tale, here is a brief summary. Emma Nolan is a plain-looking, under-confident young woman who aspires to be a successful shoe designer in the world of fashion in Paris. A recent graduate of one the most elite fashion programs, at the top of her class, however, she could only find work as a dresser (or _gadrobiere_ ) for _Capitaine Designs_ , but she hopes to design shoes for this particular designer. Killian Jones is a successful designer with who became one of the top designers in Paris within a few years. His popularity has led him to become an arrogant, and egotistical person. This begins to affect his business as the fashion critics come to hate his most recent collection. However, a twist of fate (and a fairy godmother) will bring these two together in an unusual way.

Prologue

Twelve-year-old Emma Nolan was engaging in a bi-weekly tradition: watching _Disney's Cinderella_ with her mother, Mary-Margaret Nolan. For as long as Emma can remember she has always been drawn to this movie. She watched it for the first time when she was five and instantly fell in love with it. Since then, Emma has watched it with her mother on a regular basis. After breaking several VHS tapes, the two came to a compromise. They would trade off movies; one week they watch _Cinderella_ and the other week they watch _Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs_, which is Mary-Margaret's favorite film.

Mary-Margaret admired her daughter's fascination with the movie and she did not want to discourage her. Mary-Margaret could always relate to Snow White and her husband, David, was her Prince Charming. She would even call him that sometimes. While Mary-Margaret's fascination was with the princess, Emma's was with Cinderella's shoes.

They were at the end of the film where Cinderella and her prince are married and they go off to live out their happy ending. Mary-Margaret smiled. "I just love it when Cinderella gets her prince in the end." She said as they started to clean up their snacks and blankets.

"Yeah." Emma agreed. "And that wouldn't have been possible without the shoe."

"What do you mean?" Her mother asked.

"It was the shoe that brought them together in the end." Emma replied.

"No it wasn't." Mary-Margaret retorted. "It was the love that Cinderella and the Prince had for each other. And besides, it was the Fairy Godmother who brought them together."

"True, but it was the shoe that brought them back together." Emma claimed. "When Cinderella ran from the castle the shoe was left behind. The shoe was the key for the prince to find her."

"Okay, but you are forgetting that for those who share true love fate will always bring them back to each other." Her mother rebutted. "It was the true love they share that brought them together."

"Yes, but the process of finding each other was accelerated because of the shoe." Emma replied. "Without the shoe, the movie would've been much longer."

Mary-Margaret smiled at her daughter. They had finished cleaning up their make-shift movie theater and headed to their respective bedrooms. "Are you sure you don't want to go to law school?" She asked. "You would make for a pretty good lawyer."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I'm serious." Her mother said. "I am the coach for the eighth grade debate team and none of them can argue like you can. Maybe I should bring you to some of their practices and you can teach them a thing or two."

Emma shook her head. "No way, Mom." Emma replied. "I'm going to be the top shoe designer in Paris and design for one of the top designers there. My designs will be sold in every shop in the city, maybe even all of Europe."

Mary-Margaret smiled at her. "I know you will, honey." She replied. Emma has always set high goals for herself. She was happy with her life. She was an eighth-grade teacher at the local school and she was married to the captain of the local law enforcement. They were high school sweethearts. She knew what she wanted out of her life, but Emma always dreamed bigger. She wanted to work in fashion and live in Paris. Finding prince charming was not Emma's top priority, unlike her mother.

Emma got herself situated in bed. Even at the age of twelve, she did not mind being tucked in by her parents. Mary-Margaret pulled the covers over Emma. "You know, Emma, having a career is great but it also nice to have something to come home to at the end of the day. No matter how successful I will be as a teacher, it doesn't compare to coming home to my family. You guys make my life worth living. And I want that for you too." She told her, in her mothering tone.

"I know, Mom." Emma replied. "I want that too, but I also want a career."

"I know honey, and I know that one day you will be living out your happy ending." Her mother said.

Emma's eyes widened. "You think so?" She asked.

Mary-Margaret nodded. "I know so." She kissed her daughter on the forehead. "Goodnight Emma."

"Night, Mom." Mary-Margaret headed for the door when Emma stopped her before she could close the door. "Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I will find my prince charming?" Emma asked.

Her mother nodded. "If the shoe fits." She said with a smile.

 **A/N: So, this didn't happen in the film. I thought it would be nice to give a back story of where Emma's desire to be a shoe designer originated. Plus, it is a nice mother/daughter moment that those two never got to have on the show. Also, in the movie Kelly Carter did not have parents that played a role in the film. However, Emma will have that here. Stay tuned, as I will be introducing more characters.**

 **For the Captain Swan shippers, I hope you will enjoy this one.**


	2. Chapter 1A

Chapter One

Eleven Years Later

Emma is now twenty-three, recently graduated from one of the top fashion programs in Paris last year. However, because of lack of contacts and experience (that was the reason claimed in her interviews even though she had completed several internships during her time at school) that she was only able to find work as a gardrobiere (dresser) for _Capitaine's House of Fashion_. She was warned that she may have to start from the bottom and she was okay with that. Killian Jones is one of the top designers in the industry. The fashion critics compliment his collections saying they are fresh and innovative. She has been working for him for the past year. She hopes to be the shoe designer for his next collection. Despite, being in fashion is not the type of person who can afford to wear high fashion. She also prefers to be comfortable in boot cut jeans, flannel shirts, and her blue eyes to be hidden behind large black-rimmed glasses. Many call her "the plain one."

Emma is busily working to dress the models for the show. Killian is unveiling is latest collection. Personally, for Emma, this collection is terrible. In her opinion, his last few have been kind of stale. However, she hopes that she will be able to change that in his next one. She has an interview with him tomorrow. She busily works on zippers, buttons, finding the right shoes and accessories for each outfit that models will wear. Regina, her co-worker and best friend, is working at the station next to her. Regina is the one who showed Emma "the ropes" when she first started and formed an instant friendship. She is one who is content with her job, for the time being, because she likes her schedule. Dressers are called in when needed so it gives her time to do other things. Meanwhile, Emma has higher goals. Regina respects that but will miss working with her friend on a regular basis.

"I still can't believe you're going to leave me and this wonderland behind, just so you can design shoes." Regina said, trying to evoke guilt out of Emma.

Emma rolled her eyes, while she quickly dressed the next model. "Regina, it's what I went to school for. I didn't work my ass off for four years just so I could dress models for the rest of my life." She retorted.

One of the models interrupted them. "Excuse me." She said. "Can you help me? I dropped my glove. Can you get it for me?" Regina and Emma exchanged a look. "Please?" The model asked. "I can't bend down."

"Sure." Emma replied, as she retrieved the glove. She handed it to the woman.

"Thank you." She said, as she headed towards the ramp. Emma nodded. She kind of felt bad for her. That poor woman was stuck in a dress she could barely move in. _What was Killian Jones thinking?_ She thought to herself. She followed the woman while placing the shoes on their feet. All of the shoes were out of her hands when she reached the end but she fell over. Just then, a hand reached out to her. It belonged to Killian Jones himself. He always made an appearance at the end of his shows to receive the glorious praises for his latest collection. Emma took his hand while admiring his beautiful biceps that were on display due to the vest he was wearing. She felt like she could melt every time she looked into his beautiful blue eyes. Emma accepted his hand and would swear she felt her heart flutter when they touched. She ignored it chalking it up to the exuberance of her job.

"Thank you." She told him. He simply nodded. Emma could not help the smile that appeared on her face. Her moment of bliss was interrupted when a woman appeared on Killian's arm. "Are you ready, darling?" She asked. He escorted her onto the runway without giving Emma a second glance. Her name was Milah and she was the "image" for his latest collection. Killian had a different approach to fashion designing. He would find a woman to be the face/image that would inspire him to produce another great collection. Everything was built around her, clothes, jewelry, hats, and even shoes. Emma believed it to be an unorthodox way to design but it seemed to work for him, at least until this collection. One thing she learned in the fashion program was how to read the critics and the expressions on their faces told her that they were not pleased with Killian Jones' latest designs.

Regina and Emma watched as the women paraded around in the dresses they could barely breathe in. Regina nudged Emma. "You know you're going to miss all of this." She joked.

Emma nudged her back. "Oh yeah. I'm going to miss being trampled on by pencil-thin models and poked by pins, and being blinded by ridiculous amounts of hairspray."

"I don't know about you, but I think Captain Guyliner overdid it today." Regina commented. As a part of his image, Killian wore eyeliner. Regina came up with that nickname a couple of years ago. Emma rolled her eyes at the comment. She never stated it outright to her best friend, but Regina knew that Emma had a crush on Killian Jones so she liked to get her quips in when she could.

The pair watched as Killian basked in the glory of his "supposed" success. The applause was simply to appease his ego. Miseur Jones did not take to criticism easily. His assistants, or entourage as Reginal liked to call them, would have to gently give him the reviews tomorrow.

Regina shook her head at the situation. "It's a shame that your interview with him is tomorrow." She told Emma, pointing towards the critics. "They hated his collection."

Emma's heart sunk a little, not because of Regina's comment, rather as a result of watching Milah leave a peck on Killian's cheek. Deep down, she wishes that it was her being the one to do that. Over the past few years, Killian has let his ego get the best of him. But Emma knew there was more to him than that. One day she hoped she would have the opportunity to find out.

….

While Killian was finishing with interviews and greeting adoring fans, Emma helped the models to change and redress for the after party, which the dressers were not invited to. That did not matter to Emma. She wanted to go home and get a good night's rest for her interview.

The models were already celebrating with complimentary champagne when Killian walked in. "Ladies, you all were wonderful. All of you." He told them. "You were just delicious, all of you." The models giggled at his compliments. "Now, I would like to invite all of you ladies back to my villa for an evening of song, wine, and cheese." The women applauded at the invitation. Then they all made their exit, leaving Emma, Regina, and the other dressers to clean up.

Killian and Milah still remained. Emma was within earshot as he whispered "sweet-nothings" into Milah's ear. At that moment, Regina lost control of one the clothing racks and it came barreling down the ramp at Killian. Emma was able to grab it before it him, however, the rack turned too quickly and it fell right on top of her. Killian watched as all of his outfits fell to the floor. Emma was not sure how many shades of red her face turned. She chose to remain hidden until he left.

 _Why do all of my "clutzy" moments have to happen when HE is around?_ Emma asked herself.

Regina drove Emma home on her vespa. Emma always thought it was a ridiculous means of transportation, but Regina assured her it was practical for living in a large city. Emma preferred driving and riding around in something that had a structure and doors.

She pulled up in front of Emma's building. "Oh come on. It wasn't that bad." Regina assured her about the rack mishap. "You could use it as an icebreaker."

Emma chuckled. "Oh yeah. I could say, 'Hi, remember me? I'm the one who dumped your beautiful gowns all over the floor.'" She joked.

Regina parked so Emma could get off. "Relax, he was so self-absorbed he probably didn't even notice. Maybe a knock on the head would've done him some good." She said.

Emma took off her helmet and handed it back to Regina. "Yeah, maybe you're right." She conceded. "I should've let it hit him." Her comment made them both laugh. She waved goodbye to Regina and headed inside.

If one looked at the exterior of Emma's building they would say that her apartment must be a nice place. However, the interior would speak differently. Emma lived with these two women whose main profession was to sleep all day, party all night, and find an eligible man to land. Regina calls them the ugly stepsisters. When it came to the apartment, her roommates were complete slobs. They would leave, clothes, food, drinks, dishes, etc. everywhere. Emma normally spent most of her time cleaning up after them only to come home to a trashed apartment again the next day. It was a vicious cycle. She didn't let it get to her because she can afford the rent.

Emma walked over to her desk, glancing at her sketches. Little did she know that she was just in time for the "show." It was reaching the late afternoon and the stepsisters were emerging from their slumber. Marguerite came out first. Her eyes were barely open as she made her way to the refrigerator. She took the orange juice out and drank straight from the jug. Then she left it on the table as she headed to the bathroom. Then Jacqueline emerged, hair a mess, robe slumped over and she had some of her underclothing stuck to her leg. She walked over to the table picked up the orange juice and took a swig. For a split second, she thought about actually putting it back in the fridge but decided against it. Instead, she left it on the table and walked back to her room. Marguerite returned from the bathroom with her toothbrush in her mouth, walked over to the table, grabbed the orange juice and took it back to her room. Neither of the sisters even noticed Emma who had been watching them the whole time. Once they left she started cleaning up.

It was times like this when Emma was grateful she did not have a door or a wall because she would miss the comedy show every day. Emma's entire life fit into that breakfast nook. It was a two-bedroom apartment that Marguerite and Jacqueline's mother pays for. She told them if they wanted spending money, they would have to get jobs. They came up with a better idea to rent out the space next to the kitchen so they could have spending money. Truthfully, they should be grateful to Emma because she was the only person willing to live there. Without her, they would be forced to have to get jobs. However, that didn't stop them from treating her poorly. They told her the only reason they let her live there was because she worked for Killian Jones. They hoped that she would be able to introduce them to him.

Several hours later, the two emerged in the ugliest dresses Emma had ever seen. They thought they looked great. Emma shook her head at them. They were standing at the mirror putting on some gaudy jewelry when they finally noticed her presence. "Oh, you're here." Marguerite said.

Emma took a break from her sketch. "Yeah, I cleaned the apartment." She told them.

"Did you?" Jacqueline snidely replied.

"Do you want a medal or something?" Marguerite retorted. They headed for the door, going out for another night on the town. They stopped before they reached it. "The rent's due on Monday. Don't be late." Marguerite said. Emma could hear them making jokes but all Emma could do is shake her head. _Those two are so weird._ She thought to herself.

 **A/N: I used the names of the step-sisters from the movie** _ **Ever After**_ **. This does not mean I hated Jacqueline (rather I really liked her). I'm just using their names.**

 **Up Next: Emma is running late for her interview and Killian learns the truth about the reviews of his collection.**


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

 _Emma is in the studio, surrounded by sketches and designers. There is a string quartet playing in the background. Killian is looking over her shoe designs. He appears to be impressed with them. "Did you design these?" He asked._

 _"Yes." Emma said. She appeared confident in her green dress and she chose not to wear glasses._

 _"Magnificent." He complimented, as he threw the sketch aside._

 _"Thank you." Emma replied._

 _"Champagne?" He asked._

 _"Yes." Emma said, as she took the glass._

 _"Dance?"_

 _"I'd love too." Emma replied. She took Killian's arm and he led her out onto a platform. They began to dance. Emma didn't even notice there were other women standing around them appearing to be frozen in place._

 _Killian was smiling at her. "How many children would you like?" He asked her._

 _"Well, two to start with. Three if we are still getting along." She told him. Then she heard laughter all around her. She saw all of the frozen women from before, and even Marguerite and Jacqueline, were standing around her laughing hysterically. She looked down to see she was in her plaid pajamas and her glasses had reappeared on her face. She screamed as she left the area, hearing Killian's haunting laugh as she ran off._

Emma woke with a startle, realizing it was only a nightmare. "I'm sick, I'm sick." She said aloud. Then she looked over at her clock. "I'm late!" She freaked and rushed to get ready.

/

On the busy streets of Paris, there is a young woman wandering the streets with her suitcase and a map asking every person she passes for directions. Her red curly hair is in a messy bun on the top of her head. The orange suit jacket certainly does not match the floral ankle-length skirt and the red sneakers she was wearing.

Her name is Astrid and she was not afraid to ask for directions. "Excuse me, can you help me?" She would ask them, pointing to her map. No one paid any attention to her and they continued on their way. This did not deter her, though, for she knew she would find someone who would help her.

/

Emma is frantically brushing her teeth trying to give herself a boost of confidence. "Be tough. Be assertive. Don't be taken advantage of." She instructed her reflection.

Emma packed up her prototype shoes that she was going to show Killian. Then she went headed to her desk to gather her sketches when she noticed a glass of orange juice was sitting on one of her drawings. "Oh God." She said, as she tried to clean the orange ring from the sketch. _They are such pigs_. She thought to herself. Realizing this was a futile attempt she put the page with the others in her bag and ran out the door.

/

Astrid approached a middle-aged woman, who was purchasing a dolphin-shaped balloon for the boy that accompanied her (most likely an _au pair_ ). The woman completely ignored Astrid and headed for the crosswalk. The little boy stared at her, but he was smiling. The woman told the boy not to stare and pulled him towards the crosswalk. He wasn't prepared for it and let go of his balloon. Astrid could see the sadness on the boy's face for the loss. She looked up at the balloon, blew air in its direction. Astonishingly, the balloon returned to the boy. He smiled at her and she winked at him as they walked across the street.

/

Emma was sprinting down the street hoping to catch an available taxi that was further up. She was just about to get into one when a woman came out of nowhere and got into the taxi right in front of her. Emma didn't have time to be angry. At this point it would be faster to run the six blocks.

/

Astrid tried asking an older, balding, man for directions but all he did was push her out of the way. She huffed with irritation. She knew he had to be punished. As he stood at the crosswalk, he felt something land on his forehead. When he looked up he watched a bird fly over him and a large amount of feces landed on his face. Astrid laughed quite loudly as she walked away. She made it to the next crosswalk when she noticed a young woman with black-rimmed glasses seemed to be in quite the hurry as she was hoping for a break in traffic.

Emma could feel the woman's eyes on her. She looked back and smiled, hoping it would end there. Then she heard the woman say, "Excuse me, can you help me?" Astrid asked.

Emma started to walk across the street, but then she stopped and turned back, knowing that she would not be able to live with herself if she did not help this woman. "Do you need some help?" Emma asked.

"Thank you so much." Astrid said. "You are very kind. I'm trying to get Louvre but I'm lost."

Emma looked at the woman's map. "Okay, what you need to do is go to two blocks north and get on the bus and that will take you a block away from it." Emma explained. She noticed the woman was not really paying attention so Emma repeated the directions to her. Astrid nodded.

Emma headed toward the crosswalk when she heard, "Where are we now?" Emma went back and pointed to the spot of their present location. Astrid thanked her. "Sure. I really gotta go." Emma said.

As she was preparing to cross, Emma noticed that the woman was heading south instead of north. "Ma'am, ma'am." She called. "You're going the wrong way. You need to go this way." Emma said pointing north.

"Oh, thank you." Astrid said. "Honestly, I don't know how I get anywhere."

"Yeah, just be sure to follow the directions I gave you." Emma said. Once again, she found her place at the crosswalk. Then, she saw the woman cross the street and was about to be struck by a car. Emma dropped her stuff on the ground and rushed to pull the woman out of the street. Astrid was trying to catch her breath. "Oh thank you." She said. "They could've been very painful."

Emma was also trying to catch her breath. "You should really be more careful." She said as she headed back to her belongings. Emma didn't realize that she through her stuff down that hard. To make matters worse, her sketches and her shoes ended up in a deep puddle. She bent down to see that her prototype was broken. The sole of the shoe had detached itself from the heal. "Oh no." Emma said aloud. She held her broken shoe close. She did not notice that Astrid had followed, observing what happened to Emma's stuff.

Astrid felt bad. This was her fault. "I wish there was some way I could thank you." She told her.

"Don't worry about it." Emma told her, still clutching the broken shoe. Astrid knew that she would do something to make it up to her.

/

Emma ran the rest of way to _Capitaine Fashions_. She knew she was really late for her interview but she hoped they would still be able to fit her in.

She walked up to the reception desk. Drizella was the woman behind the desk. Emma had known her for a long time. "Hi, I'm sorry." Emma said. "I know I'm late."

Drizella gave her a confused expression. "You're late?" She asked.

Emma pointed to her appointment book. "Yes, I have an interview with Killian Jones. It's right there." She told the woman.

Drizella did not say another word and she picked up the phone and called Killian's secretary. Emma Nolan is here." Then she hung up. "Take a seat." She told Emma.

Emma walked over to the very-crowded couch in the lobby. She was hoping the man on the end would move over some, but he did not. Instead, she took liberty of taking an inch of the couch to sit on. _Hopefully I won't have to wait too long._ She thought to herself.

/

Killian was in the middle of meditation when his entourage entered his office. They were holding the reviews from his latest collection. Killian believed it to be a success, however the reviews say different. Zelena and the others were afraid to tell him.

"Ah, you have come to congratulate me." He said. He looked at Robin, his publicist, and then gave him a hug. Then he turned his attention to the group. "As a token of my appreciation for everyone's contribution on the collection, I am giving every _Capitaine_ employee an autographed photo of myself." He told them. The group offered him their best fake smiles.

Killian went to sit at his desk. "Read the reviews." He told Zelena. "I want everyone to share in this glorious moment." She paused out of fear.

Killian got comfortable in his chair. "Read them to me." He told Zelena.

 **A/N: If you have not seen this film the first part is a dream sequence. I decided to move Killian's reaction to the next chapter. I hope you are still enjoying the story. Please review.**

 **I apologize for the delay in posts. I have been trying to get everything ready for my trip to the OUAT convention in Vancouver later this week. Looking forward to meeting the cast and touring the set. Also, I can't wait to meet others in this awesome fandom.**

 **Up Next, Killian decides to make changes and Emma gets a miracle.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

It had been an hour and Emma was still waiting in the lobby. She was hopeful that her interview would still happen.

/

Killian was in hysterics. "FRAUD!" He screamed. "HE CALLED ME A FRAUD?!" Zelena had just finished reading the review by R. Gold. He is the most highly regarded fashion critic in all of Paris. His review of the collection was very negative.

Killian reached for his flask of rum and to a swig. "He's not allowed to ever review any of my collections! Ever Again! Is that understood?" He commanded.

"He wasn't the only one who criticized it." Robin pointed out. "There were others."

Killian scoffed. "Well he had the audacity to criticize Milah. The very image of the collection." He rebutted.

"Everyone hated the image, mate." Robin replied. "And they hated the collection."

Killian was shocked. "They did?"

Ruby nodded in agreement with Robin, still afraid to say anything.

"Sales are down." Robin told him. "We'll be lucky to break even on this one."

Killian took a minute to regain his composure. "We need to change everything." He told his entourage.

/

Emma was startled by the crash of a door when she saw Killian & Co. coming down the stairs. He did not notice that she was waiting for him. "I want all of the designers in the studio, and make sure Milah is there." He told them. Before Emma knew it, he was out of sight.

Zelena made a detour to speak with Emma. "There's no point in waiting around. He won't be able to see you. He's very busy." She told her.

"I don't mind waiting." Emma responded.

Zelena glowered at her. "It is impossible. You might as well go home." Emma opened her mouth when Zelena stopped her. "Impossible!" She said. Then Killian called for her.

Emma grabbed her stuff and walked out the door.

/

All of the designers had gathered in the studio. Little did they know that Killian was handing them their walking papers.

He started with Marco. "Marco, I wanted to thank you for your service to this company and everything you did for the collection." Marco smiled and expressed his gratitude.

Killian leaned in towards Zelena. "I want him fired immediately." He whispered. Zelena scribbled notes in her book.

He walked up to a woman whose name he could never remember, nor did he know what position she held. "I'm sorry. What is it you do for me?" He asked.

The woman pointed to the hat on her head. "I see." He replied. "No hats in my next collection." He told Zelena.

After he dismissed all of the other designers, Killian stopped in front of Milah. He began to flirt with her. "My darling Milah. You are the very image of my soul." He told her. Then he began to whisper into her ear.

The others could not hear what was being said. They knew it was not pleasant when the result was Milah running from the room in tears. Without giving it another thought, he turned to the group. "Come, we have a lot of work to do." He told them.

When they returned to Killian's office he began barking orders. "I need a new image for the next collection. I need to you to scour the city. I want every young woman in the studio tomorrow. I want big ones, fat ones, small ones, tall ones." He paused. "Did I say fat ones? No fat ones. Do you what you must to find me that face." The group disbanded knowing they had their work cut out for them.

/

After Emma departed, she headed towards the river. The sound of the water always calmed her. She was reflecting on the day she just experienced. Nothing went as she hoped. At least she could be a dresser for Killian's next collection, if there will even be a next collection.

She was so focused on the ripples of the water that she did not even notice that a familiar face was approaching her.

"Excuse me." She heard the woman say, which caught her attention. Emma smiled.

Astrid realized this was the same woman who helped her this morning. "Hello." She said, as she removed her very eccentric-looking sunglasses. "Funny running into you again."

"Yeah." Emma replied, with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Astrid look concerned. "What's wrong?" She asked. "You look sad."

"You could say that." Emma responded. "Things could've gone better today."

Astrid nodded. She noticed Emma's sketches on the bench. "May I?" She asked. Emma nodded.

"You drew these?" Astrid inquired. "You are very talented."

"Thanks." Emma said.

"You must have a good job here Paris." Astrid said.

Emma shook her head.

"Well, these people don't know what they're missing out on. You are very good." Astrid told her.

"Thank you." Emma replied. "It's nice to know I have someone's support."

Astrid nodded. Then she noticed the shoe box. Without even asking she took the box and pulled the shoes out.

"Be careful." Emma scolded. "They're fragile."

Astrid ignored her. "Oh these are beautiful." She complimented. "Did you make these?"

"I designed them, yes." Emma replied.

"Oh, they're beautiful." Astrid repeated. "Can I try them on?" She did not wait for an answer. She removed her very colorful sneaker and put one of the shoes on. Emma was too distracted by the very large sneaker that Astrid took off to notice that she put the broken one on. She could hear Astrid saying the shoes fit her perfectly. Emma compared the shoes and could not see how that was possible.

Astrid removed the heel and put it back in the box. Then she put hers back on. She looked at Emma. "You're a very special person." Astrid told her. "Well, I best be on my way." She took her leave. "Thank you for being so kind." Emma waved as she walked away. Then she collected her things and headed for home.

The moment she entered the apartment, Emma's roommates ambushed her. "So, how did the interview go? Did you get to meet with Killian?" Marguerite asked, ushering Emma to the table.

"Are you hungry?" Jacqueline inquired. "We saved some food for you."

Emma did not know which question to answer first. All eyes were on her. "It didn't happen." She finally said.

"What do you mean it didn't happen?" Marguerite asked. She looked at her sister. "You told me her interview was today."

"It was today, but it didn't happen." Emma interjected.

Marguerite pouted. "I thought you were finally going to be useful." She whined. Both women headed towards their rooms.

Jacqueline turned around. "Oh, the rent's due on Monday. Don't be late." She said.

Emma heard both of their doors slam as she headed to her desk. She put down her sketches and opened the shoe box, hoping to prepare the broken shoe. She pulled it out of the box and let out a gasp…the shoe was fixed.

 **A/N: Sorry for the long delay. The exchange between Emma and Astrid was slightly different from the film. My purpose for that was so it would flow better.**

 **I want to thank potterfreak2 for the review. It means a lot. I hope you will continue to enjoy the story. I agree: Fandom is family and I hope this fandom will always remain that way.**

 **Sidenote: OUAT convention in Vancouver was amazing! If you find the opportunity to go, take it. It is worth every penny. If you're interested visit Creation Entertainment website to peruse upcoming conventions. Go to:** .com **There are still tickets available for the conventions in Chicago, San Francisco, and New Jersey.**

 **Up Next: Regina tries to help Emma work on her self-confidence. Killian learns that finding his new "image" will not be a very easy task.**


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